Breech-loading fire-arm



(No Model.)

M..WHEELER.

BREEOH LOADING FIRE ARM. No. 329,793. Patented Nov. 3, 1885.

WITNESSES: I; INVENTOR:

ATTORNEYS. v

MARSHAL WHEELER, OF CRESTON, IOWA.

BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 329,793, dated November3, 1885.

7 Application filed July 8, 1885. Serial No. 170,955. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

V Be it known that I, MARSHAL WHEELER, of Oreston, in the county ofUnion and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Breech-Loading Fire- Arms, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention more especially relates'to breechloading rifled guns, andits main obl jeot will be best explained by the following statement: Itis a wellknown fact that guns of this description, after a limitedamount of use, lose their accuracy, owing to the wearing away andconsequent enlargement of the bore of the barrel,which creates too muchwindage for the bullet, and for close shooting renders them practicallyuseless. It then becomes necessary to have the cartridge-chamber of thegun bored out larger, so as to admit a cartridge of larger size with abullet big enough to destroy said windage. Thus enlarging the bore ofthe barrel is a serious inconvenience and expense, not only tosportsmen, but to a government using these arms in large quantities. Toremedy this defect, I provide each gun with a set or series ofdetachable thimbles adapted to load with or carry a metallic or othercartridge, which thimbles are totally independent of the barrel, butwhich are separately capable of being fixedly connected with the breechend of the barrel. These thimbles are each of the same size externally,so as to fit the same gun or breech end of its barrel, but they are ofdifferent-sized bores or diameters internally, so as to accommodatecartridges of different sizes suitable for enlarged conditions of thebore of the barrel as produced by wear.

' Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of the breech end of thebarrel of a gun with a thimble of the smallest interior bore suitabletherefor inserted therein, and with a ball-cartridge in its place withinthe thimble. Fig. 2 is an exterior longitudinal View of a similarthimble of like dimensions externally, but of larger bore or interiordimensions. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of another thimble suitablefor the same gun, but having its cartridgechamber of special shape.Figs. 4 and 5 are rear end views of the thimble shown in Figs. 2and 3,respectively. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section showing a modifiedconstruction of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates the breech end of the barrel of agun of enlarged interior capacity, as at b, relatively to the bore 0 ofthe barrel, and serving to receive within it from its rear one of aseries of thimbles, B, of which there may be three or more in a set, thesame being constructed of the same exterior diameter to fit the chamber1), with which they engage by ascreW-thread, d, and having a flangedhead, 6, recessed, as at f, to receive the head of the cartridge.

The thimbles B, (shown in Figs. 1 and 2,) of which there maybe two ormore, are of like construction, and, as before observed, same exteriordimensions, so as to be interchangeable, but of different bores g, tohold cartridges of different diameters, said thimbles forming detachablecartridge-carryin g devices or holders. Thus the thimble B in Fig. 1 maybe of aNo. 40 caliber or gage to be loaded with or carry a straight orcylindrical cartridge, 0,01" corresponding dimensions, the next thimble,B, in Fig. 2 of N o 41 caliber or gage to carry a like shaped cartridgeof dimensions to suit, and so on for any number of interchangeablethimbles in succession, all of increasing caliber or gage to carryball-cartridges of correspondingly-increasing sizes. By this means abreech-loader may have its accuracy greatly prolonged, as when thebarrel becomes worn to an extent that the bullets of the cartridges ofthe smaller or normal size used in the gun become too small for thebarrel, causing too much windage, the thimble adapted to such sizedcartridges may be readily unscrewed from the breech end of the barrel,and a thimble of the next sized larger caliber or gage be inserted inits place to allow of the use of bullet or ball cartridges of the nextlarger size, and so on for any number of thimbles, increas ing incaliber corresponding with the wear of the barrel, and carrying oradapted to cartridges to correspond, thus restoring the accuracy of thegun.

My invention, too, has another advantage. Thus the same gun orbreech-loader may have its power increased by employing a similarlyexternally constructed thinible, B, Fig. 3,having its bore 9 ofdifferent diameters, or, in other words, of bottle-shape, to receivewhat are known as Swiss cartridges. The exterior of the bodies of thethimbles may be made slightly tapering, as shown by dotted lines in Fig.1, and the chamber 1) in the breech end of the barrel of likeconfiguration,to facilitate the entry and removal of the thixnbles.Furthermore, holes h h, as shown in Fig. 5, may be made in the flangedhead 6 of each thimble for the insertion of a wrench, to facilitate thescrewing and unscrewing of the thinible in and out. The thimbles may,however, be detach ably connected with the breech end of the bar relotherwise than by a screw-thread.

Fig. 6 of the drawings shows a modification of the invention for thesa1nepurpose,in which, instead of the detachable thinibles fitting orscrewing into the breech end of the barrel A, each separate thiinble orbreech-piece Bis constructed at its forward end to screw onto a rearexternally reduced extension of the breech end of the barrel.

Having thus described my invention,I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent-- The combinationfor use in connection with abreech-loading rifle or gun of a set or series of independentcartridgecarrying thimbles constructed to detachably connect with thebreech end of the barrel and of like exterior dimensions, but ofdifferent sized internal bores or calibers, essentially as and for thepurposes herein set forth.

MARSHAL WHEELER. Vitnesses:

ANDREW J. STEFFEY, J AMES M. LOOKE.

